SoulcatcherHow it works & interactions with other cards

Scaling Through Combat

Soulcatcher features a triggered ability that watches for any creature with flying dying. This includes your own creatures, your opponents' creatures, and even non-Bird creatures as long as they have the flying keyword. Every time one of these creatures moves from the battlefield to the graveyard, Soulcatcher receives a permanent +1/+1 counter.

Step-by-Step Resolution

When a flying creature dies, the game checks its status just before it left the battlefield. If it had flying at that moment, Soulcatcher's ability triggers and is put onto the stack. When the trigger resolves, you place a +1/+1 counter on Soulcatcher. Note that if Soulcatcher and another flier die simultaneously—such as during a board wipe—Soulcatcher will be in the graveyard before its trigger can add a counter, meaning it cannot save itself from lethal damage occurring at the same time as other deaths.

Strategic Considerations

To get the most out of Soulcatcher, you should aim to force trades in the air. Even if your smaller fliers are lost, Soulcatcher grows stronger, eventually outclassing larger threats. It is best played in decks where flying is the primary keyword, ensuring that almost every death on the board results in a power boost.

Interaction examples

Fueling the Thopter Engine

Ornithopter of Paradise

If your Ornithopter of Paradise is destroyed by an opponent or used as a chump blocker, its death triggers Soulcatcher. Because Ornithopter of Paradise has flying, Soulcatcher receives a +1/+1 counter as soon as the trigger resolves, effectively turning your mana dork's demise into a permanent buff for your Soldier.

Scaling Power for Taxing

Esper Sentinel

While Esper Sentinel does not have flying naturally, if you provide it flying (through another effect) and it dies, Soulcatcher will grow. More importantly, as Soulcatcher grows from other flying deaths, it becomes a more significant threat on the board while you use Esper Sentinel to tax your opponent's spells. If the opponent uses a noncreature spell to kill one of your other fliers, Soulcatcher grows, and Esper Sentinel forces a higher tax based on its own power, creating a difficult choice for the opponent.